The present invention generally relates to telephones that are connected to telephone lines and situated on the premises of telephone service subscribers. The present invention more particularly relates to calling and answering devices for use in conjunction with such telephones.
In a conventional telephone network, a telephone situated on the premises of a telephone service subscriber (i.e., customer) is generally connected to the end of a telephone line that extends from the central office (CO) of a local telephone service provider (i.e., telephone company). Within such a network, if an outside caller attempts to call the subscriber or some other person at the subscriber's premises, a ring generator situated within the central office transmits a pulsed ringing signal along the telephone line so that the signal is ultimately communicated to the telephone of the subscriber. Once the ringing signal is received and detected by the telephone, a ringer within the telephone then audibly sounds off in an intermittent fashion, both in sync with the pulsed ringing signal and in accordance to a predetermined ring cadence. During this time while the telephone is “ringing,” the subscriber or some other person at the subscriber's premises, if present, has the option of taking the receiver of the telephone off-hook so that the telephone line is thereby seized and the subscriber or other person can converse with the caller over the line.
For a person who is elderly, infirm, disabled, handicapped, or not fully ambulatory, there are many times in which, though on the premises and within earshot of the telephone, he is not able to reach the telephone in time (i.e., while it is still ringing and before the caller hangs up) to answer. When a telephone call is missed in this manner, the person must either resign himself to having missed the call altogether or rely on a phone answering machine, a phone answering service, a caller ID (identification) service, or a last call return service so that he may, if he so desires, call the caller back. In a few instances, missing calls may actually be desirable if the calls are unwanted, such as, for example, unsolicited calls from telemarketers. Missing calls, however, from more favored, preferred, or important callers is highly undesirable, for the person in each instance is either relegated to having missed the call altogether or must go through the hassle and inconvenience of having to call the caller back.
To avoid missing important telephone calls while on-premises, a person who is elderly, infirm, disabled, handicapped, or not fully ambulatory may perhaps decide to tote around the unattached handset portion of a cordless telephone set. Doing so on a long-term basis, however, is generally neither feasible nor practical for many such persons, for the handset portions of cordless telephone sets are typically too bulky and cumbersome to be carried around continuously. As an alternative, such a person may instead perhaps choose to carry around a cellular telephone, for cellular telephones are typically both compact in size and lightweight and are therefore generally less cumbersome. Toting such a cellular telephone while on-premises, too, however, is generally neither feasible nor practical for many such persons, for cellular telephones often have poor reception when utilized indoors, have diminutive buttons and features requiring good manual dexterity and vision to operate, and are somewhat functionally complex.
In light of the above, there is a present need in the art for a telephone answering device or system that (1) enables a person to selectively answer a telephone from a remote location, (2) is lightweight and easy to carry around for a long period of time, (3) is easy to operate manually, and (4) is functionally simple.